admin | July 10, 2023
News Brief
Malnutrition is a major issue affecting millions of children in West Africa, including about one million in Burkina Faso. It is stressful for any parent, who just wants their child to grow healthy and strong, as Adélaïde Placide Bamogo knows well. She is the founder of Arostel Trade, which produces nutritious infant cereals prepared with local ingredients. They make three products: cereals from multigrains, bananas, and rice. All are enriched with moringa, which adds calcium, iron, vitamin A, and vitamin C. Mrs. Bamogo says that it's not enough to give a child a meal, but it’s also necessary to give children nutritious food.
Malnutrition is a major issue affecting millions of children in West Africa, including about one million in Burkina Faso. It is stressful for any parent, who just wants their child to grow healthy and strong, as Adélaïde Placide Bamogo knows well. She is the founder of Arostel Trade, which produces nutritious infant cereals prepared with local ingredients.
She says, “I, myself, had a malnourished child. The child was eating but I felt that every time, he was weak and was losing weight. It was during a consultation that the doctor made me understand that the child was suffering from malnutrition and they referred me to the CREN service,” which is the Centre for Recovery and Nutritional Education.
The center taught her how to make enriched infant formula from ingredients readily available. She says, “It’s there that I understood that it was not enough to give the child a meal. It was also necessary to give the child nutritious food.”
Her business was born out of her motivation to help women prevent and fight child malnutrition. They make three products: cereals from multigrains, bananas, and rice. All are enriched with moringa, which adds calcium, iron, vitamin A, and vitamin C.
Producing infant formula requires adhering to strict standards and hygienic practices. They have nutritionists on hand as they make the flour for the porridge and they submit samples to the National Laboratory for certification. Mrs. Bamogo adds, “It’s for a very sensitive consumer, so a lot of hygiene is needed.”
Sabine Ouédraogo ensures the hygiene of the cereals at Arostel Trade. She says, “If you were not used to it, regarding hygiene, washing, sorting, at the beginning, it was not easy.” At first, they were just managing a small amount, but they have since expanded to include other grains.
Many of the grains are stored in huge metal bowls during the production process, and rinsed by scooping a smaller bowl of grain into a huge metal bowl of water. The grains are strained in a plastic bowl with holes to let water out and air in, as women sit and pick through the grains to remove any stones or bad grains.
Mrs. Bamogo has faced many challenges starting this business, but she says, “Like any entrepreneur, you have to hang in there and have faith in what you are doing.” She is motivated by thoughts of the children who are benefiting, as she works to grow her business large enough to afford modern production equipment.
Her grandmother, Georgette Bancé, says: “She was motivated and when she’s motivated, nothing can stop her, even if she’s going to hit the wall, she moves forward, that’s her strength. I’m proud of her, very proud of her.”
This story is adapted from a video produced by AgribusinessTV, called “Burkina Faso: Infant cereals with local flavours.” To watch the video, go to: https://agribusinesstv.info/en/burkina-faso-infant-cereals-with-local-flavours/
Photo: Women at a community meeting feed their children. Credit: Farm Radio International